For Arti Asawa, the year 2000 was a turning point. One that pushed her out of her comfort zone and propelled her to unchartered territory, in the literal sense. Fresh out of university in India, she had just moved across oceans to her then-new home, Hong Kong.
Arti was determined to find a job despite the challenges of navigating cultural differences and a new environment. Her resilience paid off when she landed her first job as a receptionist/administrator at our Hong Kong office.
She fondly remembers the days when she overcame uncertainty by keeping herself busy. “I did everything I could to learn and adapt, taking on extra receptionist duties, attending calls, collecting mail, opening and closing the office and more.”
23 years later, Arti has grown exponentially from her initial role in the front office to her current one as the Global Business Operations Coordinator for our direct selling entity, QNET.
She pegs QI Group’s leadership style, values-based environment and cultural diversity as to why she never felt the need to move all these years.
“I am constantly inspired to do my best by people around me here. Our Founders, Dato’ Sri Vijay Eswaran and Mr Joseph Bismark, have taught me the value of humility. For someone that came in with a preconceived notion that leaders of a company are just people you saw on email signoffs and posters, I was truly surprised to see their genuine interest in getting to know me and providing guidance readily.”
This gave her a sense of belonging and has stayed true till today.
QNET’s global nature of business also allows Arti to travel to various parts of the world to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, meet a diverse set of people from all walks of life and understand their needs.
She handles office setups across the globe, helps localise new business markets and coordinates between multiple departments to ensure smooth service transfers. Being a bridge between the corporate and the grassroots motivates her to continue pushing the envelope and honing her skills to serve customers better.
According to her, “every day is challenging but in the best way that pushes you to grow constantly, career-wise and personally. My 23 years in QI passed quickly because I was and am still learning.”
After being with us all these years, Arti has also become an ardent advocate of our sustainability values. She spends time outside work volunteering for nature clean-up initiatives and educates friends/family on using eco-friendly meal utensils and responsible food packaging.
With this year being the QI Group’s 25th anniversary, Arti is grateful to have been a large part of this incredible journey and sees herself celebrating the next 25 with us.
Arti Asawa is a Global Operations Coordinator and is based in Hong Kong.